Lint van crèmekleurig gaas van 15 meter c. 1900 - 1915

This is a fifteen-meter-long roll of cream-colored gauze ribbon, probably manufactured in the Netherlands, though we don’t know exactly when or by whom. The very ordinariness of this object offers an interesting window onto the society that produced it. Ribbon, like this, testifies to the rise of consumer culture in Europe, the growing availability of mass-produced goods, and the market for personal adornment. It may be humble, but it is no accident that such an object should find a place in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. National museums are not just places of aesthetic contemplation, but also serve as institutions to document cultural history. To fully understand the context of such an object, a historian might consult trade records, fashion magazines, and even conduct oral history interviews. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.